62. Röttgen Pietà

 

Röttgen Pietà
Late medieval Europe (Germany). c. 1300-1325 C.E. Painted wood

The statue's bold emotionalism in Mary and Jesus's face. If we focus on Mary's face, there is a mix of emotions in her gaze. The artist humanizes Mary by giving her strong emotions. Mary's face looks appalled and anguished because of her son's death, and there is also a sense of shock, and awe that anyone would kill her son- the Son of God. The artist had exaggerated Mary's sorrow in attempts to make it seem she was asking the viewer.

Form:

-Röttgen Pietà painted wood, 34 1/2 inches high

-Painted wooden sculpture, but it is damaged, paint is less vibrant, worm holes in Mary’s head

-most of the Pieta statues of the time were from Germany, and the other surviving works are marble, or other stone, making this wooden sculpture all the more unique

Function:

-The lamentation section of the stations of the Christ, but the scene around it is taken away forcing the viewer to examine emotion

-Artistic viewing is like a vision, would have been the object of focus during prayer

- Would have been on an altar with other religious art, perhaps depicting the passions of the Christ

-This type of sculpture was common in German abbeys 

Content:

-Spirituality, mysticism, pure emotion of Mary holding her dead son

-Sharp crown of thorns, 3D blood and wounds, making it violent and gruesome 

-Mary is not looking optimistic like she knows he will rise again; she looks like she had been wronged, she is draped in the typical garb with heavy fabric and she still looks young, but she is suffering

-Extremely skinny, ribs visible, body is contorted

-this new depiction and way of Christian thought was called “the patient Christ” 

Context:

-c. 1300-25, late gothic period of middle ages, which was very dramatic

-Saints like St. Francis of Assisi, Bridget of Sweden, St. Bernardino of Siena

 And Hildegard of Bingen

-Originally depictions of Christ on the cross would demonstrate the Christus triumphans, like in the Lindisfarne Gospels

-Greco Crucifixion came after this in the artistic evolution and it showed suffering but Christs legs are together so as no to be immodest or too humanized

 Principle, where his suffering is not apparent, but in this period divinity showed in a different, and more human way, belief that connection to god could be achieved through emotion

-clearly reflects mysticism of the time, not caring about previous issues with iconoclasm during middles ages, as it is a holly object that would have been prayed to

Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Images of Suffering

1. Coyolxuahqui Stone
2. Munch, The Scream
3. Seated Boxer

Sources:

-https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/medieval-europe-islamic-world/v/roettgen-pieta

-https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/early-europe-and-colonial-americas/medieval-europe-islamic-world/a/rottgen-pieta